This Week’s Tech and Mobile News: Red iPhone 8 and a New Way to Text

Apple has launched a red version of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus which will benefit HIV / AIDS programmes in Africa. This version follows on from the Product Red iPhone 7 phones released last year. This time the front of the phone is black rather than white and the back appears more glossy and a darker red colour. The phones are available for pre-order now.

Facebook has updated Messenger so you can now send 360 degree photos in the messaging app on iOS or Android. If you take a 360 photo panorama with your camera or via another app you are able to share it with friends via Messenger. This update also allows you to share HD videos for the first time. See more details here.

A new 9.7 inch screen iPad has been announced. The sixth generation of Apple’s popular tablet is here and boasts some minor improvements on last year’s model. The main upgrades are support for the Apple Pencil and a faster Apple A10 processor. The iPad still beats the competition, so the decision here might be whether you go for this model or for the bigger and better iPad Pro. Check out a review here.

We’re heading towards a hands-free world and scientists at MIT are developing a headset called AlterEgo which could let you send texts at the speed of thought. The technology relies on subvocalisation signals, which are small signals that the brain sends to your mouth when you are thinking about speaking, but don’t actually speak. The headset uses a neural network to translate the signals into words. See the prototype in action here.